


The Gift

by steveanthonys



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Dragons, M/M, Protective Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers Feels, i dont know how to tags things so..., this is my first work and im scared
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-17 14:55:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15463881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steveanthonys/pseuds/steveanthonys
Summary: Medieval!au where a young Tony is trying to regain the throne, Stephen gives him some dragon’s eggs and Steve is madly in love with the tiny sweet prince. (there is an eight years difference between Tony and Steve).





	1. Fly Away with Me

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to @starkparker on tumblr for giving me the idea. I don't have a beta yet, if anyone would like to do it come forward and dm me to my tumblr [steveanthonys.tumblr.com](steveanthonys.tumblr.com)

“Dear Anthony, this is my pledge: I swear to support you in this battle to regain the throne that is rightfully yours”. Stephen Strange said while bowing his head a little, offering a silver engraved box to Tony.

Tony stood and took the box from his hands, “Thank you, Sir Strange.” He inspected the object, tracing the delicate curvy lines on the lid of the box.

“I suggest you to open it now.” Strange said, regaining his posture – he was as tall as Tony even standing two steps below him, “It would be my greatest pleasure to see your reaction, that’s all.” He smiled encouragingly.

For all that matters, Steve thought Strange was a little too close to Tony. They were currently into the main tent, the one that was used for entertaining the aristocrats who supported Tony’s cause. Today it was the turn of Sir Stephen Strange, whose land has been greatly suffering for Obadiah’s greedy politics.

In fact, Tony was currently trying to regain the throne from his abusive and evil uncle who not only was wasting the resources of the reign for his personal pleasure and desires of unconditional power, but who also banished Tony from his own reign when he was so little he couldn’t have survived without the help of the little village that took him in. Steve was a young man at the time, around 18 years old, Tony was 10. He had watched as all the families of the village helped him and his old servant to find food and other supplies. They instantly became friends. Steve started to train him as soon as Tony became strong enough to lift some weapons and they have been inseparable since then. He still clearly remembers the surprise on his face the first time Tony won a match with his clever mind – his little smirk, the slick but strong thighs of a 18 years old holding him down, his little laugh shaking his chest.

Tony was 20 now, and Steve was still at his side, his faithful general who helped him with decisions, shared his food and engaged in clever discussions with.

“I’ll open it immediately, then.” Tony said, a little smile on his face, and slowly he opened the box: inside of it, three big eggs were lying on soft red velvet. They were of an opaque shade of green, some parts of them reflected a dark blue color. “Are those-?”

“Dragon’s eggs, yes.” Strange said, looking at Tony with bright eyes as if he was more enraptured by Tony’s smile than the eggs. “I hope they will keep you company on this journey.”

Tony giggled. A little tiny disbelieving laugh that broke his face into an awed expression, “I can’t accept these! I- I don’t know how to take care of dragons!”

“Take them as a challenge then, take care of them as you would take care of your people.”

It was known that the Strange lineage was strictly linked to magic. They were known to be doctors, but some of their healing abilities couldn’t come from just herbs and massages.

Steve tried to ignore the look on Strange’s face, as much as he tried to ignore the one on Tony’s. A gift like that was more than a promise of support in the battle.

“Thank you, thank you very much, Steph- uh, Sir Strange.” Tony’s eyes were bright. He closed the box and put it delicately on the floor beside him and shook Strange’s hand. “You could tell me some more details about them during dinner tonight? It would be a pleasure having you there with me, with us.”

Stephen smiled, “If you believe so. I’ll meet you there then.”

Before Tony could take his hand away, Stephen lifted it up to his lips and he gave a small kiss to its back. Tony looked away blushing and Stephen, with all his generals and servants, left the tent after a small bow.

As soon as they were alone, Tony’s joy filled the room.

“Steve!” he said, turning around “He gave me dragon’s eggs, can you believe it?”

“No. I really, really can’t.”

“That’s amazing,” he crouched down, opening the box again “Imagine when they will open and those tiny little creatures will walk and fly around us.”

“Dragons aren’t tiny, Tony.”

“Oh, stop it! You know what I meant. I want to learn how to ride them. Do you think they really breathe fire? Or is it just a legend? I guess we will find out. I hope they won’t hurt anyone though.”

“They could hurt you.”

“That’s not true, they will love me. As a matter of fact, they love me already.” Tony touched the tip of the egg in the middle, “They are so smooth, touch them! Touch one of them, Steve.” Tony was gesticulating, he got up on his knees and took Steve down with him. “Touch ‘em!”

“Okay, fine!” Steve sat next to him. He couldn’t resist him, not when he was this excited about something.

Steve took the one on the left. He lifted it up and caressed it with smooth and small gestures. “It’s- It’s weird.”

“Right?”

Steve was mesmerised by the colors of the shell: it slightly changed to a deeper blue according to the light. It wasn’t cold, but not exactly hot. He was scared of crushing it.

He was slowly putting it away, when he suddenly felt two strong arms wrapping around his waist, a chin on his shoulder and the soft tickle of curly hair on his cheek.

“We will raise them together.” Tony said, hugging Steve tight. “We will learn how to ride them together, and then we will fly away together.” He hid his face in his shoulder. “What do you say?”

Steve closed his eyes, feeling warm by the closeness of Tony’s body. The plan wasn’t that bad, he could actually adjust to the feeling of cool hair wrapping around him, the sound of strong wings flapping next to him and the touch of Tony’s back against his chest while he hold on to him. But he knew that that was impossible, he knew that one day Tony would have been king and Steve would have to admire him from afar, cherishing those moments were Tony was excited enough to hug him or take his hand, or the late night conversations they had while looking at the stars.

“Yes, sure.” He took one of his hands and played with his fingers, “I would follow you anywhere, Tony.”

They stayed like that some more, their hearts thumping rapidly in their chests, until they had to get up and follow their duties.


	2. Stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Steve feed the dragons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to [nasafic.tumblr.com](http://nasafic.tumblr.com) who beta-read and helped me with this chapter!

Steve heard Tony’s giggles even before he had the chance to spot him in the back of the camp.

The dragon’s eggs hatched two weeks before and Tony had spent most of his time at the paddock where the little dragons were left to run and play together. They still couldn’t fly, Tony reassured him, and even if they did, they should keep close to the camp since their master is in it – he had mumbled something about a bond and magic and Stephen and as interesting as that conversation had been, Steve lost focus as soon as he thought about Tony and Stephen spending time alone together. It wasn’t his fault!

He spotted Tony sitting cross-legged in the middle of the paddock, with the three little dragons running and falling next to him. One of them was biting playfully Tony’s clothes, pulling them, while Tony tried to push him away. 

“Jarvis, please!” he said, laughing. “You’ll ruin my clothes! I can cuddle you, too, I’m sorry. I’m sorry!”

Steve watched from afar, perched on the fence, as one of the other dragons playfully attacked Tony’s back. He loved seeing Tony so happy and carefree. He always thought his smile was one of the most beautiful sights Steve had ever seen, but lately it was a rare sight. Between the difficulty in finding allies and the pressure of keeping the ones he actually had, Tony was becoming more and more stressed. After a long day he usually retreated to his tent but not to sleep: Steve is still the only one allowed to enter, and one night he followed him inside. Steve has seen the tiredness on his face, shown by the dark circles under his eyes, that had been illuminated by the soft glow of the fire outside. He remembered the way Tony’s shoulders and back shook because of the whimpers, because of the soft cries that Tony struggled to release. Steve will never forget the way Tony cried on his shoulder, hugging Steve and whispering “I’m not sure I want to do this anymore. I’m tired, Steve, I- I can’t make it.”

So, yes, seeing Tony so happy lifted a weight on Steve’s shoulders that he didn’t know he had.

Tony, tackled by the dragons, turned around and got up, trying to escape. 

“Stop it!” he said, and then lifted his head and saw Steve looking at him. 

“Steve!” he exclaimed, running to him while the dragons followed. “I’m glad you’re here! Could you help me with these little monkeys- oof!”

Tony lifted one of them up as Steve entered the paddock with a little jump and a laugh. The dragons trusted very few people: Tony, because he was their master who took care of them in any way possible; Stephen, because he knew how to approach them and make them feel at ease; and Steve because, as Stephen once said, he has always been there with Tony during their most important moments: the hatching, the first time Tony fed them, the first time Tony entered the fence to play with them, and so on and so they learnt to trust him as much as Tony did. There was one of them in particular, Friday, who seemed to be fond of him. According to Tony, she was the egg Steve had lifted the day Tony received them. Steve hardly believed that.

“Are you comfortable? No? Do you want Steve?” Tony asked Friday, who was trying to escape Tony’s grip. “Slow down, slow down… Here you go!” he said handing her to him. He placed Friday in Steve’s arms delicately, caressing him and resting his fingertips on his upper arms. He kept close for a while, watching Friday as she tried to claw at the leather of Steve’s jerkin; her opaque burgundy scales were smooth at the touch.

“She’s fond of you, you know?” He lifted his gaze, but kept close. His eyes sparkled with an interesting glint that Steve couldn’t quite recognize; his skin was slightly flushed. “Should I be jealous?” Tony said, smiling shyly and keeping his gaze linked with Steve’s who just wanted so bad to close the distance within them and keep Tony close forever. 

Of course, Steve was well aware that he had feelings for Tony, that he loved him more than a friend should do and that he was ashamed of it – not only because of the risk that meant to their friendship, but also because Tony was younger than him and he used to play with him and train him. It was so wrong, on so many levels. 

Tony suddenly looked away, caressing Friday’s head. “C’mon, babies, let’s go eat something, are you hungry?” he asked, his voice a little strained as he turned around to look at Jarvis and Vision. “You are hungry, Aren’t you? Let’s see what we have.” 

He guided all of them to a bowl perched on top of the fence. “There is some meat for all of you, the best meat I could find, okay? So taste it, at least, don’t devour it like you always do.” He lifted a piece and gave it to Jarvis who jumped from the excitement, his silver scales glistening in the sunlight. “Three pieces for each one of you.” 

He fed them, while Friday cuddled a little bit closer to Steve. “You have to eat too, you know?” He motioned to put her down but she whined. “Okay, okay. I’ll feed you from here, alright?”  
Tony offered the last pieces of meat to Steve so he could feed them to Friday. “Here you go!” Steve said as Friday licked his fingertips while gnawing at the meat. 

Steve lifted his gaze: Tony was watching him fondly, his cheeks flushed again. “I bet one day she’ll let you ride her, “ he said, before turning and putting away the bowl.

“I don’t know. She just wants cuddles.”

“Just from you.”

Steve smiled at Tony, then put Friday down, letting her go and play with the others. “There’s no special bond between me and her.”

“But you like to take care of her.”

Steve smiled again. “Yes, I do.”

Tony put an arm around Steve’s waist and let his head rest on Steve’s shoulder. “Then you should come here more often, make her happy,” he whispered, as if it was more than just a request for Friday, as if he felt the need to tell Steve to spend more time with him, as if they didn’t do that already.

“I’ll try.” 

They kept silent for some minutes, Steve stroking Tony’s back as they watched the dragons play.

“They make you happy,” Steve said.

“They do.”

“I just wanted to-“ Steve felt Tony’s muscles tense up.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Steve.”

The fragility of his voice hurt Steve more than he thought possible. He hugged Tony close and stroke his back, trying to ease the nervousness a bit.

“Keep me company tonight.” And Steve couldn’t contain a shiver running through his body. He knew what Tony meant, he knew Tony just wanted to be hugged to sleep, like he did when he was little and afraid of nightmares – nightmares that never ceased but only became worse and more gory – but those words could imply more and Steve desperately wanted it. 

“Tony…”

“Nobody will see us, I promise, nobody-“ He sighed and broke the hug. “We aren’t doing anything wrong,” he whispered. He was trying to keep from shouting, a frown creasing his forehead and making him look older. “You don’t even have to touch me, if you don’t want to. I just need to be sure you’re- I just need you to be there.”

Steve nodded, even though he wanted to tell Tony that his deepest desire is to touch him, to caress his body, to take care of him, to keep him safe and make Tony sure Steve could never reject him. “I’ll be there, I promise.” He caressed Tony’s cheek with his knuckles and let Tony fall once again in his arms.

That night Steve hugged Tony; he stroked his back and played with his hair until he fell asleep. Tony had a nightmare, but when he woke up he wasn’t afraid: Steve was there next to him, safe and sound, and didn’t hesitate to kiss his forehead and wipe away the tears from his cheeks.


End file.
